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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28943652">Watch Me Rise</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValaSidra/pseuds/ValaSidra'>ValaSidra</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alya Césaire Bashing, F/M, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Marinette stands up for herself, Song fic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:21:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,318</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28943652</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValaSidra/pseuds/ValaSidra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette and Luka begin singing together. What will Marinette do when Juleka gives the class tickets to their concert?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>308</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Watch Me Rise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi all! This is my every first song fic! My friend, and beta, Doctor Who gave me the song to do for this. Thank you for reading, and please let me know what you think!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIfq6Wv6kis">Link to Song</a>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Luka walked into the bakery. After the class had ostracized Marinette, and Lila had convinced the Kitty Section to kick him out, they had become close. They had actually started dating. Marinette had realized that her crush on Adrien had been on the person she had thought he was, but if he could stand by and let the class and Lila bully her, he wasn’t that guy. He heard music playing in her room and opened the door. Marinette was singing along to a song on the radio while pinning fabric together on a mannequin. That, however, wasn’t what </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> caught his attention. Marinette’s voice was beautiful! It was smooth and on perfect pitch. He could not </span>
  <em>
    <span>believe</span>
  </em>
  <span> he didn’t know this! Her voice was like an angel’s. He walked up to her, softly joining in, causing her to stop and jerk around in shock. A grin was on his face. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He leaned in and held her face in his hands as he whispered, “Your voice is absolutely beautiful. If you did it professionally, you would be the best seller everywhere.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A blush dusted her cheeks as she murmured, “I think we sounded great together if I am going to be honest. You however are the one that does it professionally.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luka’s eyes brightened as a thought occurred to him, “You should join me. I am the one that writes the songs, so you wouldn’t have that on your plate. We would only have practices. You could still follow your dream of being a fashion designer. You could even wear a mask to hide your identity.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette gave a small smile and agreed. That was how they started their career as a professional duo.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>~~~</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was a year since the day that Luka had heard her sing in her room. Marinette wore a mask and went by the name Nette. They had gone on a tour. Now, they were back home and having a concert. Juleka had decided to give everyone in the class a ticket. She knew all along that Lila was lying and wanted to take the girl down. The class was seated in their seats and filled with excitement. There was a rumor that Nette would be revealing her identity at this concert. It was also the truth. Marinette was ready to step into the spotlight. The lights dimmed and a spotlight turned on above Luka. He was seated at a piano. A figure made their way to the microphone at the front right before the spotlight was on them. It was Nette, her red mask with black swirls on her face. She waited for the cheering die down before she took a deep breath.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone expected her to start singing, but, instead, she spoke, “I know everyone has heard the rumor that I am going to reveal my identity tonight. Well, it is true.” The comment was met with cheers and she continued, “However, this is not all. The song I am going to start with is for a special group of people. This is for my class from Collège Françoise Dupont. This is my message to them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The class was confused. They were the </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> class from Collège Françoise Dupont. Their confusion was cured when she removed her mask, revealing Marinette’s face. She closed her eyes for a moment  before looking at the class with eyes of steel as the music began. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>“You used to say I was nothing, wasn't worth it</strong>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Made me believe that my love for you was counterfeit”</strong>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette’s mind went back to how crushed she was as the class said she was just jealous. How they called her a bully despite her giving her all to them for so many years. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>“Words cut deep, they brought me to my knees</strong>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>You took my world and you tore</strong>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>It into pieces, thought you were it and I could never leave this”</strong>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rose remembered how tears would well in Marinette’s eyes as they would tell her that Lila told them that she did something, so she had to have done it. Max remembered the hurt look in Marinette’s eyes when he believed that she could have hurt him with a napkin. As he thought of it, he realised how much of an idiot he was. Kim remembered how shattered she looked when they tore up her sketchbook. Alix’s mind brought up all the times Ms. Bustier would chastise Marinette for something and how Mr. Damocles didn’t even give Marinette to prove her innocence. She had no one to turn to.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>“But I found the strength inside of me</strong>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>I found my light inside the dark</strong>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>I filled the hole within my heart</strong>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>You have no power over me”</strong>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette remembered her first concert. How free she felt. She remembered how much support she had. She remembered how light she felt when she left Collège Françoise Dupont for the last time. They may have been her friends once, but they gave that up a long time ago.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>“Watch me rise above all the lies</strong>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>I won't Break, no matter how hard you try”</strong>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lila looked at the girl on the stage and realized how wrong she had been in the bathroom when she told Marinette that she would lose everything. Sure, Marinette lost the friends that she once had, but she moved on and became powerful. She became strong and wasn’t going to let what happened drag her down. Lila had, ultimately, failed at destroying the girl.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">“Watch me rise, I'm touching the skies</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Nothing can't stop me from living my life</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Watch me Rise oh-oh-oh</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Watch me Rise oh-oh-oh</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Watch me Rise”</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alya stared at her hands. She had been so pushy with Marinette and insisted that she knew what was best for Marinette. She thought she knew Marinette, but if she had truly known Marinette, would she have acted the way she had?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">“Insecure, underneath I was hurt</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">I spent my whole life striving to be perfect.</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">I used worry what others thought of me</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">I found my light inside the dark</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">I filled the hole within my heart</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">You have no power over me”</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette thought about all the times she had been told to be the better example. The times that she shoved aside her own feelings to help others. The amount of times she just wanted to be selfish and stay home instead of helping someone with a personal project. She thought of all of the times she wanted to express her true thoughts and feelings. She thought of the pressure of being Ladybug. How freeing it was but confining. She was an example for everyone. She was the one that fixed everything. She had to control her emotions. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">“Watch me rise above all the lies</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">I won't Break, no matter how hard you try</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Watch me rise, I'm touching the skies</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Nothing can't stop me from living my life</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Watch me Rise oh-oh-oh</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Watch me Rise oh-oh-oh</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Watch me Rise”</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She finished the song, her chest heaving. A weight was lifted off of her shoulders. It was over. They knew the truth now. She walked off stage and was surrounded by her classmates trying to apologize. She met them with a cold glare that silenced them immediately.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You really think that an apology will just make it all okay? You betrayed me! No, I do not forgive you,” Marinette said before turning away.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t want to do anything that she would regret. Luka walked up to her and cupped her face in his hands. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You did beautifully,” he whispered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She gave a gentle smile before lifting her arms up to his neck and pulling him down into a kiss. Their lips met only briefly, but it conveyed all of the love that they had. They walked off, leaving the class to realize all that they had lost and would never regain.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! Please leave comments! Stay safe!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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